Perimenopause, Autoimmunity & the Yo-Yo Weight Cycle

(what’s happening, why it feels different, and how to work with your body instead of against it)

📸 If you’ve ever felt like your body is a rollercoaster you never signed up for, you’re not alone.

I’ve yo-yo’d with my weight since I was 18. High school athletics kept me strong and lean, but under the surface my body was already shifting—early gluten and sugar intolerance, pesticide exposure from farm life, and most likely thyroid issues I hadn’t connected yet.

Freshman year of college, everything crashed at once. Rugby-level training for lacrosse, a diet full of gluten, and a metabolism that felt like it had turned on me left me heavier than I’d ever been. By sophomore year, I’d dropped nearly 50 pounds on a strict, joyless calorie-restricted plan with cycling as my outlet.

I slimmed down again after surgery forced me to quit lacrosse—ballroom dancing kept me lean, strong, and graceful. But the swings kept coming. Living on a YWAM base with starchy food packed on weight quickly. Cooking for myself brought it off just as fast.

Then came pregnancies. Four rounds of gaining and losing 40–50 pounds with each baby. Add in a season living in a house with black mold that piled on another 20 pounds, and you can see why my body has felt like a shifting terrain map over the years.

And when I add it all up, I’ve gained and lost more than 320 pounds over the course of my life. Not all at once, but in layers: sports, diets, pregnancies, mold exposure, detox. The scale has swung in every direction, and each season has taught me something new about resilience.

Today, at 44, I sit around 145–147 pounds. I’m slim, strong, and steady—not the bulky rugby-muscle girl of 19, not the size 4 of my cycling-and-restriction era, not the hyper-lean postpartum HIIT body of 37. But me. Resilient, steady, and learning to work with my body instead of punishing it into shapes it won’t hold.

Why Weight Feels Different in Perimenopause

Perimenopause throws curveballs that make the old “eat less, move more” equation stop working. What worked in your 20s or even your 30s suddenly feels broken in your 40s. Here’s why:

Hormonal Shifts

Estrogen and progesterone start fluctuating wildly. Lower estrogen makes your body more prone to storing fat around the middle. Lower progesterone impacts insulin sensitivity and fluid balance.
Muscle Loss

Starting in your 40s, women naturally lose 3–8% of muscle mass per decade unless they actively protect it. Less muscle means a slower metabolism and higher risk of insulin resistance.
Stress & Cortisol

Perimenopause often collides with peak stress years—kids, careers, aging parents. High cortisol locks fat around your belly, making you feel like every stressor shows up on your waistline.
Inflammation & Autoimmunity

For women with autoimmune conditions, weight isn’t just about calories—it’s about inflammation. Flares, food intolerances, and environmental toxins can all tip the scale.

How to Work With Your Body in This Season

This isn’t about chasing the body you had at 19, or even 37. It’s about protecting the terrain you have now, so you can feel strong, energized, and confident through perimenopause and beyond.

Here’s what helps:

Blood Sugar Balance

Keep insulin stable by eating protein at every meal (especially breakfast), pairing carbs with fat or protein, and avoiding the blood sugar rollercoaster. Even small shifts—like eating your carbs last—make a difference.
Strength Training

Preserve and rebuild muscle. It doesn’t have to be heavy bodybuilding; resistance bands, bodyweight, or kettlebells can protect metabolism and bone health.
Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Whole, unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods reduce inflammatory load. For many women, this means cutting back on gluten, sugar, processed oils, and identifying personal triggers.
Minerals & Hydration

Electrolyte balance matters. Low sodium, magnesium, and potassium can make weight regulation harder and worsen bloating.
Nervous System Regulation

Cortisol spikes make weight loss nearly impossible. Building in rest, grounding, prayer, and nervous system resets isn’t optional—it’s part of the metabolic plan.

Perimenopause isn’t punishment—it’s an invitation to deepen resilience. Weight shifts don’t have to mean defeat. They can be markers pointing you back to balance: stronger muscles, steadier blood sugar, calmer inflammation, and deeper connection with your body.

You don’t need to fight your body into submission. You need to listen to it, nourish it, and move with it.

The goal isn’t to look like your 19-year-old self, or your 37-year-old self. The goal is to step into midlife strong, steady, and at peace in the skin you’re in.

“Every season of life reshapes us. The gift of perimenopause is learning to be at home in your body again—maybe not as she once was, but as she is now.”

— Brenna

Next Up: Libido, Connection & Vitality in Perimenopause